1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gloves, mitts or the like, and more particularly to gloves having a molded three-dimensional self-supporting configuration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Over the years gloves and mitts have been designed to serve many purposes, and the prior art is replete with a large variety of gloves and mitts. Some have constructions particularly designed to insulate the hands against cold weather and others have been developed for protecting the hands against heat, for example, and a myriad of gloves have been provided for sports enthusiasts in a great variety of sports. The prior art also includes many disclosures of work gloves, each featuring a construction that addresses the particular needs of the particular occupation. For example U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,139 discloses a moisture-proof glove designed for grasping a fish, for use in the fish processing industry. U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,386 shows a glove for protecting the user's hand while engaged in various tasks, and has special interior portions equipped with abrasive material for use in cleaning an object. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,014 is shown a protective glove useful as a mechanic's glove, and made of a flexible sheet of rubber or rubberized cloth and having knuckle-protecting pads, and non-slip gripping pads on certain portions of the glove. The glove shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,626 is for use by medical personnel, and it has a construction designed to prevent accidental injuries when handling needles.
While these and other examples may meet the needs of their respective applications, they all appear to have certain limitations in common. This includes the requirement that, in putting on a pair of gloves, both hands must be used to manipulate the gloves over one's hands. After the first of a pair of gloves is put on, the gloved hand must then be used to put on the second glove, and it is well known that this can often be a cumbersome task. Similarly both hands are required to take off a pair of conventional gloves, manipulation of each of the thumb and finger-covering parts of the glove often being required to free the thumb and fingers. This can amount to an appreciable consumption of time, particularly when gloves are used in tasks requiring them to be put on and taken off on a relatively frequent basis. Another problem common to conventional gloves and mitts is that they are notoriously difficult to clean on their insides, and they must ordinarily be turned inside out to be properly Cleaned. There also appears to be a need for a utility glove that is adaptable for multi-purposes, for example, for protecting one's hand against sharp surfaces and against moisture and heat, while allowing a fair amount of dexterity and being easy to put on and take off. This would include, among other examples, a glove that is suitable for use in eating thorny shell fish such as crab.